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Grading UM vs. North Carolina State

There weren’t a whole lot of fans at Sun Life Stadium for Saturday’s UM-North Carolina State game, but those who came certainly got their money’s worth.OFFENSE: Before the season, no one would have dared to mention Stephen Morris’ name with Bernie Kosar, Steve Walsh, Gino Torretta and Ken Dorsey. But none of those quarterbacks managed to do what Morris accomplished on Saturday, throwing for a school record 566 yards and tying the UM mark with five touchdown passes. Morris’ output is amazing on its own, but more so considering the Hurricanes had virtually no running game (2.7-yard average on 32 carries) and the offensive slumber the team went into during the second quarter and part of the third. Morris’ arm is first-rate and his feet are nearly as good but the junior’s best attribute might be his poise. The guy doesn’t seem to get flustered, no matter the situation. Amazing to think what Morris’ numbers might have looked like if not for three drops by tight ends Clive Walford and Asante Cleveland, two of which would have resulted in touchdowns. The fact UM has gotten virtually nothing this season (again) from its tight ends hasn’t been a problem thanks to what may be the Hurricanes’ deepest receiving corps in many seasons. UM went more than a decade without two receivers gaining 100 yards in the same game and now has done it twice in two weeks. As a group, Miami’s receivers absolutely tortured N.C. State All-American cornerback David Amerson, who gave up at least three touchdowns including the 62-yard game-winner to Phillip Dorsett with 19 seconds left. Credit to Mike James and Duke Johnson, who got little done in the run game (25 combined carries for 70 yards) but contributed six receptions for 77 yards. Also major props to the offensive line which has allowed only one sack on 94 passing attempts during the past two weeks. By the way, the Hurricanes are on a pace to score 427 points this season, which would rank fourth all-time. GRADE: A.

UM's defense celebrates one of six forced turnovers against North Carolina State (Miami Herald).

DEFENSE: The Hurricanes are playing historically bad defense. At its current pace, UM will allow more than 400 points this season, which would blow away the previous worst of 314 points set in 1984 and 2008 in 13 games. On Saturday, N.C. State generated 664 yards – second-most ever against UM – and would have rung up more than 37 points if not for its own ineptitude. Still, UM’s defense wasn’t all bad. In fact, the Hurricanes likely wouldn’t have won Saturday if not for the six turnovers forced by its defense. The biggest forced turnover might have been Thomas Finnie’s interception with 48 seconds left in the game that set up the Morris-to-Dorsett game winner. Still, it looks like it will be a very long season defensively. The Hurricanes are equally ineffective stopping the run (they’re on a pace to give up a school record 2,707 yards rushing) or the pass (on track to permit 3,228 yards, nearly 600 yards worse than the school high of 2,695 passing yards allowed in 2009). The biggest problem for UM’s defense is its inability to get penetration from its front four. The Hurricanes generated only two tackles for losses (both sacks) on Saturday. GRADE: C minus.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A very, very tough day for kicker Jake Wieclaw, who missed as many field goals on Saturday (3) as he did all last season. Wieclaw spent part of last week working on his punting with the status of Dalton Botts in doubt. Could that have been reason for Wieclaw’s off day? An 80-yard punt return by Phillip Dorsett was wiped away by an illegal block penalty on Eduardo Clements. UM’s kickoff coverage unit allowed a 50-yard return. The highlight of the day for special teams was Botts, who left last week’s game against Georgia Tech on crutches but bounced back to punt eight times for a 40.6-yard average. Botts also did his best impersonation of Natrone Means by carrying a N.C. State defender four yards on a fake field goal attempt that produced a first down. GRADE: C minus.

COACHING: Is it too early to give Al Golden the ACC’s Coach of the Year? It hasn’t always been pretty but all that matters is that UM has found a way to enter this week’s showdown with No. 10 Notre Dame with a 4-1 record and, possibly, a victory over the Irish from entering the Top 25. The “fire Mark D’Onofrio” tweets and posts were flying around on Saturday once again. But I don’t think that Buddy Ryan in his heyday could fix what presently ails UM’s defense. Only nitpick I have with offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch is his play calling inside opponents’ red zone, which tends to be a little too cute. GRADE: A.